Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 12:40:13 01/28/99
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On January 27, 1999 at 18:07:40, Robin Smith wrote: >Has anyone compared the "nodes per second" search rate for the various chess >programs out there? The reason I am curious is it seems to me that for equaly >rated programs, "fast searchers" might excell at speed chess and/or tactical >positions, while perhaps "slow searchers" will perform better at very long time >controls and/or more strategic positions. Has anyone made this comparison and >are my assumtions reasonable? No... because it is the wrong way to compare programs. It is great to compare the same program to a modified version of itself, if your intent was to optimize a bit of the code... because with identical programs, faster is better. But take two automobiles. My son has a 1990 ford Mustang, with a 3.08:1 final drive ratio. Hot little car. In 1968, I had a plymouth road runner with a 4.10:1 final drive ratio. If we could race them, and only use the tachomoter to pick the winner, my roadrunner would win easily. If we look at the speedometer, the mustang would win, because my roadrunner would run out of gears too quick, and probably wouldn't do much over 120-130mph, while that mustang will likely get real close to 150. But if we had two mustangs (identical) then watching the tach would work, because the one turning the most rpm would be going the fastest, since everything (including final drive ratio) is equal. That's the pitfall of looking only at NPS when looking at different programs. His motor might be turning slower, but he might be going faster for all we know if he is very selective...
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